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The path to decarbonization is arching toward hybridization and innovation. As the built environment confronts its critical role in global carbon emissions, industry leaders are moving beyond simplistic electrification models to develop nuanced, adaptive strategies that balance performance, efficiency, and environmental responsibility.
The transformation of the HVAC sector represents more than technological upgrades – it’s a fundamental reimagining of how buildings interact with energy systems. From maintenance optimization to advanced AI-driven training, from hybrid heating solutions to renewable infrastructure, the emerging approaches reveal a complex, multifaceted approach to reducing building emissions that prioritizes practical implementation over theoretical ideals.
1) The Decarbonization Challenge: Setting the Stage
The race to decarbonize America’s buildings is taking an unexpected turn. While policy discussions often center on electrification, industry leaders are pursuing a more nuanced approach, combining innovative maintenance strategies, hybrid systems, and alternative fuels to reduce emissions while maintaining building performance.
“We’re kind of at the stage where we’re quantifying carbon emissions in buildings,” explained Dennis Knight, P.E., president of ASHRAE. “The standards we’re working on right now are primarily focused on new construction, and new construction will probably be the most heavily affected by decarbonization initiatives.”
These initiatives are gaining urgency as the Department of Energy aims for 90% reduction in building emissions by 2050. But the path to achieving these targets may not be as straightforward as full electrification.
2) Hybrid Heating: Balancing Performance and Emissions
The quest for building decarbonization has revealed a critical insight: One-size-fits-all electrification solutions fail to address the complex thermal needs of diverse structures. This has pushed manufacturers toward innovative hybrid approaches that blend traditional and emerging technologies to offset, rather than electrify emissions.
“Our intent is to offset your fuel consumption by 70%,” said Zachary Golden, a licensed master plumber at Weil-McLain, describing their dual-fuel heating strategy. “We can take your entire winter heating load and, say, 70% of the run time can be offset and run through a heat pump.”
This hybrid approach addresses one of the main challenges in building decarbonization: maintaining reliability in extreme conditions.
“It’s a comfort thing,” Golden explained. “Heat pumps do have limits when we get down to design temperature. That’s where the combustion comes into play — we have the ability to supplement the heat, step it back up.”
Johnson Controls is taking a similar path toward practical decarbonization.
“If you look at where we are from an overall HVAC perspective, there’s a significant amount of opportunity in decarbonization across the HVAC sector in North America,” said Enes Uzel, VRF product portfolio manager at Johnson Controls. The company has developed lifecycle account managers who guide customers “from a traditional fossil fuel type of mechanism all the way to a full fossil-free type of environment.”
INNOVATION: Attendees of the AHR Expo got to see dozens of decarbonization innovations at the 2025 show in Orlando. (Staff photo)
3) Renewable Infrastructure: Beyond Traditional Energy Sources
While some manufacturers focus on electrification, others are exploring alternative paths to emissions reduction. Copeland is expanding its role in renewable natural gas infrastructure, particularly in landfill applications.
“We have a large sharehold of the landfill applications, where we are capturing methane from landfills instead of letting it release back into the atmosphere,” explained Lauren MacGowens, director of PMO and sustainability at Vilter at Copeland. The captured methane is cleaned and upgraded for pipeline injection, driven by both EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard and provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.
4) Manufacturing’s Carbon Footprint: Internal Transformation
Major manufacturers are addressing their own carbon footprints. Baltimore Aircoil Company has set an ambitious target of 50% emissions reduction by 2030 from their 2019 baseline.
“We’re looking at our products’ carbon footprint by conducting Life Cycle Assessments, examining the embodied carbon, and certainly looking at the impacts from our major materials, like steel,” explained Brie Welzer, director of global sustainability at BAC. The company is pushing beyond typical industry measures by examining Scope 3 emissions, though challenges remain. “There’s no carbon-free steel yet in the U.S.”
5) Maintenance as a Decarbonization Strategy
Recent research has revealed an often-overlooked aspect of decarbonization: the role of system maintenance. A study by Dr. Mark Hernandez, P.E., at the University of Colorado Boulder, found that professional HVAC cleaning can reduce fan and blower energy consumption by 41-60% while increasing supply airflow by up to 46%.
“When you clean the ductwork, the VAV response time and system stability is way better,” Hernandez explains. “The dirty system had the VAVs opening and shutting and opening and shutting. But after cleaning, they were all opening together, all closing together. It behaved like a symphony orchestra.”
6) Smart Technology and Adaptive Systems
Xylem’s Bell & Gossett is addressing efficiency through advanced pump design.
“Traditionally, pumping products run on constant speed motors, and constant speed motors are wasteful because they operate at full capacity all the time,” explained Bell & Gossett’s Jacob Lazzarotto.
Bell & Gossett’s hydrovar X product line, with new additions of the e-1531X, e-1532X, and e-80SCX Smart Pumps, introduces all-in-one variable speed systems that adjust to demand, only operating at full capacity when needed.
“The buildings that are built today will last decades into the future,” Lazzarotto noted. “Any small amount or percentage of energy usage that you can decrease carries a tremendous amount of weight over the long term.”
7) Global Perspectives on Decarbonization
The push for decarbonization extends beyond U.S. borders.
“We’re working on a project in Germany right now where we’re deploying our high-efficiency heat pumps to a German utility provider that is helping customers to decarbonize in a larger footprint area,” said Johnson Controls’ Uzel, highlighting how district heating projects are gaining traction in Europe.
8) Workforce Development and Technological Training
The decarbonization push is complicated by a critical industry challenge: an aging workforce and a shortage of skilled technicians. Lazzarotto highlighted this pressing issue directly: “We have an aging workforce, and that workforce carries a lot of knowledge. Unfortunately, there’s a shortage of new entrants into the workforce for this industry who know about all the specifics of pumps and whatnot and how to get it running optimally.”
Johnson Controls is leveraging AI to bridge the knowledge gap.
“We use AI capabilities to train our technicians,” Uzel said. “We’re working on technology that allows one of our internal engineering leaders to help a technician visualize what’s happening in a unit remotely. This helps with workforce mobilization and up-skilling.”
9) Advanced System Design and Efficiency
The technical innovations driving decarbonization go far beyond simple equipment replacement. Weil-McLain’s Zachary Golden describes their approach to system optimization: “We developed an eco-tech calculator to calculate home heat loss. We’re going to go through Manual J calculations and train our contractors to explore what BTU values look like at lower temperatures.”
This approach represents a fundamental rethinking of system design. “Traditionally, 180°F was your target temperature,” Golden explained. “Now we’re looking at 140°F for longer periods, enabling the heat pump to run longer at lower modulation and offset the combustion cycle.”
10) The Holistic View: Charting a Sustainable Future
As ASHRAE’s Knight suggests, the path to decarbonization is complex and multifaceted.
“We’re at the stage where we’re quantifying carbon emissions in buildings,” he explained. “The standards we’re working on are primarily focused on new construction.”
The industry’s approach reflects this complexity. Rather than a single solution, decarbonization requires a comprehensive strategy that considers system design, maintenance, workforce training, and technological innovation.
“What we should focus on is what customers need,” concluded Talbot Gee, CEO of Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI). “Do they need heat? Do they need hot water? Do they need cooling? And what’s the best way to do that in the most cost-effective, economical way?”
With commercial buildings generating 16 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, the stakes are high. These innovative approaches offer a glimpse into a more sustainable future — one where comfort, efficiency, and environmental responsibility can coexist.